Hey...Pine Actually Burns Pretty Good!!

[BurnIt13]

As a New Englander we don't burn much pine since there are hardwoods everywhere. When my neighbor offered to drop 1.5 cords of log length pine off this spring....How could I say no??? The logs were of odd lengths and some were a bit gnarly so I ended up with just shy of a quarter of a cord of short splits, chunks and uglies.

Perfect for this shoulder season. It is all ready to burn with MC in the mid teens. Boy, this stuff is light compared to my 20ish% oak!

The stove was stone cold when I loaded it up at 4pm yesterday with 5 awkwardly shaped pretty large splits. I'd say by volume my Englander 30 was maybe 2/3rd's full but there was plenty of space between the splits.

Within 20 minutes the stovetop was 400 and I had a nice healthy fire. I was able to back the air almost all the way down to maintain flue temps of about 450 and stove temps around 500. Stove temps peaked to around 650 for an hour or so as the secondaries were going nuts.

At 10pm the stove temp was down to 250 with enough coals left for a reload. 6 hours on a crappy, poorly stuffed 2/3rd's filled load of pine.....NOT BAD

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. And I'll be asking my neighbor for more pine next spring!

 

[joescho]

Just be careful how much you burn. That stuff can create a lot of creosote. If you're going to burn all of it I would inspect the chimney when you're done with all of it.

 

[branchburner]

Many in New England still treat pine in the manner that lobster was once treated, as an unwanted weed. But along came the EPA stove, and melted butter. It will take a few more decades for most New Englanders to understand that pine is good fuel.

 

[eclecticcottage]

Yup, pine really is fine.

Of course, we can't let that get around too much or we won't be getting more than we can take for free, lol.

 

[branchburner]

Just be careful how much you burn. That stuff can create a lot of creosote. If you're going to burn all of it I would inspect the chimney when you're done with all of it.

Pine doesn't start chimney fires, people do. Creosote is from wet wood, regardless of species soft or hard.

 

[BurnIt13]

Pine doesn't start chimney fires, people do. Creosote is from wet wood, regardless of species soft or hard.

Yep.....an old wives tale unfortunately. A cord of 13-16% MC pine will surely produce less creosote than a cord of 20%+ oak.

Dry wood + EPA stove + proper burning habits = no creosote.

I sweep my flue with a sooteater a few times a season anyways though....just in case

 

[oldspark]

[quote
Dry wood + EPA stove + proper burning habits = no creosote.

[/quote]
I would add dry wood+ correct burning practices=no creosote, I burnt an pre EPA stove for over 30 years as my only source of heat and never had any creosote to speak of, way less then some with EPA stoves that are having problems (wet wood, flue temps, ect).

 

[PapaDave]

Welcome to the Pine Burners club, BurnIt13.

 

[NextEndeavor]

Pine works great here. They are dying off all over the place so it's very easy to get. Mine has an MC averaging 12%. Some small pieces won't even give me a reading. My meter works fine often indicating 50% on fresher cut wood that I'm saving for a future year. Pine wants to burn fast. Glass stays clean and so does chimney!

 

[NextEndeavor]

Just for fun, I split some 2x4 lumber tonight; MC was running about 7 to 9% according to my cheap meter. I often light up with scrap lumber.

 

[gchunter]

Burning pine as I type this. I seasoned it for a second year covered.

 

[Countryboymo]

I grew up burning hedge in a furnace and locust and later in life got a pellet stove for the basement. We have very little pine around here and it does not compare to hedge or many other choices here but many pellet burners would look for pine. I purchased a few bags and there is a noticeable difference in more heat and less ashes with pine pellets compared to hardwood. In a stick burner I love hedge... in my pellet eater pine is supreme.

I bet if the tree was decent sized and seasoned pine would heat nicely. I pulled at least a cord of hedge trees out of a brush pile that was pushed together over 15 years and killed 2 chains cutting it and almost ripped the maul off a splitter. It was like coal.

 

[RFarm]

All this talk about burning pine got me fired up - I just lit the stove and through in a couple arm fulls of pine. Mine is on its second year of seasoning and burns beautifully.

 

[Beetle-Kill]

If you're going to burn all of it I would inspect the chimney when you're done with all of it

"all of it" ? I usually clean the pipe waaay before I'm done with "all of it". You so funny.

 

[wazzu]

Just be careful how much you burn. That stuff can create a lot of creosote. If you're going to burn all of it I would inspect the chimney when you're done with all of it.

Soooooo, I wonder why every house in the Mountain West has not burned down yet. Oh yea its because we all burn DRY "pine" of all varieties.

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

In my area pine is RAMPANT being in a rural mountain region in Colorado, it's all that grows up here. A cord of hardwood goes for some solid cash up here.... That said, my pine burns GREAT! My only problem is it doesn't give me as long of an overnight burn as some hardwood will. I will probably be able to heat my poorly insulated 1967 A-Frame house all winter on 3 cords of pine and 1 cord of hardwood without ever turning on the baseboard. Having a brand new EPA stove helps for sure. Like any wood, burn right and good things will come.

 

[jrcurto]

I took down a bunch of White Pine in the spring, split and stacked it over the summer. Once I checked the MC on a resplit I have been burning it effectively this fall. Pretty cool stuff to watch light off and get the stove going.

Jim

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

For sure jrcurto, if I have a handful of embers, I can pack the stove right when I wake up, get in the shower with the stove door cracked, get out of the shower and dressed, then shut the door down and head to work with the stove shut half way down and it is still at 60 when I get home. My chimney stays pretty clear but at night I just basically burn 2-4 hot fires and let them burn down rather than using super dense wood and letting it roll all night at half mast. It works, but damn I want some hardwood for while I'm at work so it can go all day or close to it. $375 a cord here though and not any way to go "get wood" as it all comes from tree services in the city.....

 

[HotCoals]

I can pack the stove right when I wake up, get in the shower with the stove door cracked,

Man I don't think that's a great idea.
But it's your stove and house! Cheers!

 

[Beetle-Kill]

RockyMtnHigh- 2 words.......Blaze King.

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

Man I don't think that's a great idea.
But it's your stove and house! Cheers!

With only a handful of coals literally it takes it 15 minutes to even show flames, sometimes I only get smoke at that point. I also prop a piece of angle iron against the door so it won't swing open I'm not one to burn my house down after installing over 1500 woodstoves, trust me...

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

RockyMtnHigh- 2 words.......Blaze King.

I know, we sell them at my store... I got a GREAT deal on my Quad though, 40% below my employer cost, Blaze King didn't offer that and winter was coming in a rush! It is in the plans though.... eventually.

 

[Beetle-Kill]

Fireplace Warehouse? Just curious.

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

Nah, small mom and pop retailer in Conifer

 

[HotCoals]

With only a handful of coals literally it takes it 15 minutes to even show flames, sometimes I only get smoke at that point. I also prop a piece of angle iron against the door so it won't swing open I'm not one to burn my house down after installing over 1500 woodstoves, trust me...

It's just that sometimes new members read things and say I should try that and they may not have your timing or good luck. Cheers!